City of Divergence
by isabelle-hunterofshadows
Summary: AU in which the Lightwood family from Mortal Instruments are members of the Dauntless faction from Divergent, featuring Isabelle Lightwood
1. Chapter 1

_Dauntless through and through. _Isabelle Lightwood sighed at her faction exam results. It made perfect sense; her parents were both raised Dauntless, and they raised Izzy and her brothers (Jace, Alec, and Max) as Dauntless. Izzy loved their faction and and what they stood for. They were the protectors of all five factions, and they guarded their value in bravery as they did their community. When the upcoming Faction Day approached her, all arrows were pointing Izzy toward Dauntless.

Except for one, and that was the arrow pointing directly to Simon Lewis.

He was her star-crossed love, the Erudite member she had been secretly been seeing since they met at Faction Day of the previous year. She asked him, of course, to join her in Dauntless.

"We can be together and not have to hide from our parents of factions. My family would absolutely love you."

He smiled tightly. "I love you, Izzy. But Erudite is my home, and I love studying."

"We have books in Dauntless too, y'know."

"It will never be the same. I need to be surrounded by people who value what I value."

"What about me? Am I worth less than knowledge?"

He embraced her and pressed his mouth against hers. "The only knowledge that's really worth knowing," he whispered, "is the knowledge that a girl as beautiful as you exists in this ugly world."

"I love you," she said.

"Come with me."

"What?"

"Isabelle Lightwood, I'm madly in love with everything about you. Come join me in Erudite."


	2. Chapter 2

Faction Day arrived much more quickly than Izzy expected. On her way to the Choosing Ceremony, she stressed over the life-altering decision confronting her. It wasn't that she didn't have what it took to make it in Erudite; her quick wit and memorization skills would make Erudite a breeze. It certainly fit her better than, say, Candor. Studying would be easier than telling the truth all of the time. No, skills weren't the problem at all. The main factor keeping her from automatically choosing Erudite were her values. She would feel utterly useless, cooped up inside all day with her nose in a book. Izzy needed action, the rush she felt protecting her home. It gave her a purpose.

When it came time for her to slice the knife against her soft palm, she faced two very different futures, one offering a lifetime with Simon and the other promising the security of the danger she craved so desperately.

Gasps sounded from her family when a drop of her blood hit the clear Erudite water. Simon smiled at her with his beautiful starry eyes.

Izzy had never been the type of girl to let her life be controlled by thoughts of a tentative love. She pitied those girls and their stupidity - why pend your entire life on someone who might not stay for tomorrow? Now, Izzy understood those girls. It wasn't a choice. She didn't get to slice her skin and pour her blood wherever she pleased in order to make her life perfect. Her logical reason had been clouded by thoughts of Simon. Though it was ultimately Izzy who dropped her drip of blood over Erudite, she could not choose what life threw at her. The faction chooses the Shadowhunter.


	3. Chapter 3

"Welcome to Erudite!" the leader of the faction, who introduced himself as Hodge, welcomed them. The first building in the Erudite's community was a library, one of which Isabelle was certain there would be many of. Simon looked happier than she had ever seen him, and she felt his joy. They could finally be together without fear of the disgrace of their families. Also, she felt a sudden loyalty toward Erudite. Though she didn't necessarily agree with what they stood for, she knew the number one rule by heart: faction before blood.

She barely listened while Hodge went over the process of Erudite initiation process. He passed out a stack of books. Those who were raised in Erudite or given up their previous lives to dedicate themselves to acquiring knowledge immediately delved into the thick pages. Isabelle joined them, wishing she shared their passion.

"This one was great," Simon pushed a book in her direction. Of course, being raised in this faction, Simon would have a jump start when it came to training and initiation.

Usually being around Simon made her giddy. Now, she just felt empty. She could only imagine how different life would have been if he had been willing to join Dauntless for her. Which raised another question...

Why hadn't he?


	4. Chapter 4

"Izzy, there's something I need to tell you."

Tears swarmed her eyes. She was homesick. "Me too."

"You first."

"I wish you had come to Dauntless with me." Her voice was barely a whisper, but he needed to know how much she was hurting.

"That's kind of what I needed to talk to you about," he cleared his throat nervously.

"What is it?" Izzy wondered if he regretted not giving her more of a choice. Why did she have to be the one to sacrifice for him?

"When I was given the results of my aptitude test, I was told that I was Divergent."

"Divergent?" the word was unfamiliar to Izzy, yet somehow it still felt wrong on her tongue.

"That means I could fit into multiple factions. One of them was Erudite, and the other was Dauntless."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I could have adjusted to being Dauntless because I had the aptitude. But I didn't, because I was too scared to leave home. And I didn't even consider that you would feel the same way."

"It's even worse for me! I was Dauntless through and through!" She remembered her joy at hearing those exact words, Dauntless through and her, after her aptitude test. She had been overwhelmed with joy, and emotion of which she was no longer capable of feeling.

"Maybe you are Divergent, at least a little bit."

She couldn't imagine being anything other than Dauntless, especially considered her apathy toward her new life in Erudite. "What do you mean?"

"I think," Simon looked at her in serious consideration. "That you've got a little bit of Abnegation."

"Abnegation?"

"Izzy, I love you. But I, nor anyone else I know, Abnegation or otherwise, could top you when it comes to sacrifice."

She studied herself in the mirror. In her Erudite attire, she didn't look Dauntless anymore. But her father's detailed facial structures and her mothers eyes made it impossible for her to look purely Erudite. Though she sacrificed everything, her appearance didn't have a trace of Abnegation.

Isabelle Lightwood was not Divergent. She was..._factionless._


End file.
